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June 2, 1925.

G. VlDMER G oLF PRACTICE COURT Filed sep't. 12. 1923 2 'Sheets-Sheet l June z, 1925. 1,540,670

G. VIDMER GOLF' PRACTICE COURT Filed sept. 12. 193 2 sheets-sheet 2 awww/1m 6.90796 Vzzimer Patented .lune 2, 1925.

.unirse Zsnr1'r..s

PATENT OFFICE.

GOLF r11-nemen coeur.

.Application led. September 12, 1323.

To @ZZ whom it may conoci/n.'

lle it known `that l, Giacinto Vennen, a citizen ofi the United states, residing at vifashington, in "the lD-istrict oGol1ini:bia, have invented certain new und useful lin provenients in Golf Practice Courts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, end exact description olf the invention, suc-h as Will enable others skilled 'in the fart to which it appertai-ns -tO-niake and use the saine. V f K The present inventionrelates to improve ments -in' yp o'lf practiceV courts Afin vwhich pro.` -rision `is inode for thesate:condnctot proc- -tice shots nearthe if -tial orother tee.

An object ol the 'invention is lo Splrtwiide a relatively small and compact honsino `in which practice shots may befindulged .in with reel -clulos and ballsk `without ien- `dangering those congregated about the tee and awaiting to `drive foil?.

The Ainvention also contemplates fthe `use ot a lliousing or court in ywhich the accuracy, distance and trajectory of the golf hall ymay be ranged by the novice and lin which the ,golf hball is returned to .the player automatically.

It is a 'further object .of :the invention `to provide an appliance of this mature lor use both `outdoors `and indoors wherein the stance and `1to1-niiet' the vplayer may be observed through Vthe walls .of :the housing or .court for the purpose of enabling a professional `to correct 'bad form `and .other lirregularities `in lthe :golf stance, address, etc.

TWith the foregoing :and other vobjects in view :the invention may be. anore'tullgT .de scribed hereinafter and will be particularly pointed .ont .iln Athe .olaiin v"appended hereto.

ln the 4drawnings7 wherein like symbols reiterato :like or corresponding pants through- .out the Vseveral Niews.

Fig. l is a perspective view `ot an in1- :proved gold.l `.practice'court constructed nccording to fthe present :invent-ion;

Fig. 2 is a diront elevation of the saine.

Fig. V:3 .is 4a side elevation el' the court;

Fig. l is a perspective View of la niodilication for indoor use; :and

Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the sleleton traine vof the court.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, A and A1 designate .rods or posts for 'the purpose of supporting the enclosure, and guy ropes or Wires B which may be stretched troni the upper ends of the posts to the Serial No. 662,336.

ground and pegged thereto. rlfhe ,posts A. :ind t nre disposed in pairsat the flront and reelportion ot the .enclosure and Athese posts are situated apart a suitable distance .to .pern init freedom ot nionenient on `the part of Jthe relier in ener-.uting,l his swing. I

The enclosure consiste olf side Walls C and C1 which entend substantially frein the rlront Vto `the reer .posts and these walls are yp'reiferal'ily` lnade of netting .or Wire inesh in .order to allowzflen'bility should'the vWalls he struck. by fthe golf v.club or yball Without 'doinglinjury "thereto, and the court will be open io complete ventilation and `the walls "will iurtluu-nloire permit the pro to irn-- spectftlie roller troni :my angle Iand :to observe any irregularities in his forni or -Aexceution. The side walls are connected by a `top or rooi' 'C2 oli: similar material und `at the haclis a substantially vertical Well C wh'olrconnects at its lower end with a sloping :runwey orchntc if. The sloping; :run-

way may loo a contiinious pa rt with the roer will. The various walls and rooalf oi: the device are bound.falonglthe edges by binding strands H :in d the Vstrands at the glfroiit -and rear of the roof are continued to the posts .in loops as indicated ath.. These exto sion strands .inay be secured Ato the upper ends ott :the posts by loops and pins and servo fte suspend fthe `entire structure :from said posts. The sloping `runway C0 is connected .to the side walls C and C1 by appropriate tastenings as indicated :at D in `order to `preserve the regularity `oit the inclination as the `flexilolo character `off the runway `.wouldotherwise tend to sag. The 'lower edges lil oft the side ,walls may loe secured directly,7 'to the court gro-und by the use of staples or pegs it or other appropriate i'astenings, and the walls are preferably drawn (taut so as to preserve the enclosure in -a triin condition.

ln front-end separated 'by a short distance .from the central portion o the rear wall-C3 is hung a strip ol' n'iaterial, preferably icsnvas F which extends preteraljily :for the approximate height oi the rear Wall, said strip being secured to the :top Wall in any appropriate `manner and forming in front or the rear wall a yieldable objective against which it is; the `aini or the golfer to drive the ball. The canvas strip F bears a inni-king which may advantageously take the torni oil a vertically disposed elongated bar preferably oi a black color in order to contrast sharplyv with the White or the cen vas I". This vertical bar or marking is made centrally on the canvas and it is of a suitable Width to receive the white golf ball and to show up the golf ball when the saine is driven thereagainst.

New, the foregoing description refers to a device for outdoor use, but it is obvious that the practice of golf swings may be carried on equally well indoors and for this purpose the apparatus for indoor practice will preferably take the forni shown in Figs. l and 5 in which the mesh structure or the netting is contained within, and suspended by a preferably collapsible skeleton frame lvl made of wood, gas pipe or other material, of small diameter or other material preferably of a tubular construction on account of lightness. The skeleton frame M consists of connected rectangular side, rear and top frames and projecting above the corners of the frame are pins m to take the projecting strands h connected to the bolt ropes H of the enclosure. It will thus be apparent. that for indoor use, the identical enclosure used outdoors in connection with the posts may be disconnected from these posts, carried indoors and suspended from the pins m of the indoor skeleton frame. Substantially the same apparatus is thus capable of being installed indoors and the same will be found particularly useful in barns, garages, gymnasiuins, and club houses, although the device is also useful in private homes as the space within the enclosure is not necessarily large.

In the use of the device a golfer will tee his ball at or near the front open portion of the enclosure, and facing the rear wall C3 Will drive the ball into the canvas F, having as his objective the marking or bar f upon the canvas. The enclosure will protect the; bystanders from random blows from the golf club and will also protect those about from misdirected shots, which resultl in a great number of injuries and not infrequently fatalities on popular golf courses. ln an apparatus of this kind, the merest duffer may indulge. himself in a number of practice swings at or near the starting tee without endangering others, and it is the purpose of the invention to provide these enclosures in numbers about the starting and possibly other tees on golf courses where golfers, waiting to tee off, may occupy themselves profitably in improving their strokes. The marking f on the canvas F will form an objective for the golfer representing substantially the flag staff and the flexible character both of the canvas l? and the supporting rear wall will enable this canvas to give, when the ball strikes the saine, sullicicntl)v to hold the ball for an appreciable interval of time to allow the golfer to raise his head after properly executing his follow through. rl`he novice thereupon may obtain a correct knowledge olf the direction in which his ball would have taken flight and the low or high trajectory of the ball may be gauge-d by the height of the ball upon the elongated bar j', so that the player may practice both characters of shot.

It will be noted that the device is preierably larger at t-he front and tapers toward the rear wall C3 and the taper may take place both as respects the side walls and the top or roof of the device. This construcn tion permits a suiiiciently large space for the activities of the golfer at the open front of the. enclosure and it provides adequate space at the rear for the purpose described while econoinif/.ing on material, and it furthermore focuses the attention of the golfer on the object marking It is understood that changes in forni, proportion, size and minor details may be made within the scope of the claim without departing from the spirit or sacrilieing any of the advantages of the present invention.

Vhat is claimed is A flexible golf practice court comprising supports having pins thereon, a netting enclosure composed of side and rear walls and. a top, heavy binding strands extending along the edges of the top, said rear wall being secured to the rear ends of the side walls and the side walls adapted to be secured to the ground at their forward edges but sloping upwardly away from the ground at their rear edges, n, run-way at the rear portion of the enclosure extending down from said rear wall and being secured to the sloping edges of the side walls, a flexible objective strip supported within the enclosure in forwardly spaced relation to the rear wall, loops extending from the corners of the enclosure for removably engagingr said pins whereby to hold the enclosure in a distended position, and further loops at the lower portion of the rear *all for engaging certain of the supports to hold the rear wall at its lower portion away from said objic tive strip.

GEORGE VIDMER. 

